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Woman gets year in prison for DUI

A woman convicted of another DUI was sentenced to one year in prison and given a 10-year driver’s license suspension.

Rebecca Lynn Finegan, 42, of Elyria, faced a mandatory 120 days to five years in prison, $1,315 in fines and a mandatory license suspension of two years to life during her hearing Thursday in Huron County Common Pleas Court.

She apparently was reported by “women at Mickey Mart,” whom Finegan said she was “thankful to” and that they “probably saved my life and somebody else’s life too.”

During the Jan. 1 traffic stop, Finegan had a .24 percent blood-alcohol content level, three times the legal limit of .08 percent for Ohio drivers.

The prosecutor said that Finegan also was under arrest for the possession of marijuana and that “a sentence less than one year would not be sufficient.”

Finegan, who has several children ages 14 years and younger, did go through a program after a previous DUI and “got back on track,” according to her attorney. However, she eventually “fell off track.”

“She is very remorseful for what took place that day,” said her attorney, Reese Wineman. “She realizes that she needs help for these serious problems. She said that she is at the point in her life where she is ready to either give up the alcohol and drugs or die.”

Finegan said she does “realize the reasonability I have and the seriousness of what I have done and I am not happy with myself.”

Judge James Conway was not inclined to believe her remorse, though.

“Because of the repeated nature of your offenses, it seems that you are not very remorseful,” he said. “Hopefully it does not come to hurting or killing someone for you to learn. You are fortunate no one was hurt or killed this time.”

The judge sentenced Finegan to one year in prison and ordered a license suspension of 10 years as well as a fine of $1,315

Finegan was taken into the custody of the sheriff immediately after the sentencing.